Moving On
by sunnyblainey
Summary: With George refusing to speak, Percy blaming himself, Harry missing his parents more than ever, Hermione obsessing over finding her parents, and the rest of the family just trying to live, the Weasleys are finding it hard to celebrate this Christmas. Canon pairings, Rated T for angst.
1. Grief

Almost 8 months had passed since the Battle of Hogwarts, it was nearing Christmas now. Harry was living at the Burrow full time, as the Dursleys were no longer required to care for him. He had originally wanted to live at Grimmauld Place, but Mrs. Weasley had thrown a fuss over how he wouldn't get enough to eat. Hermione had also taken up residence at the Burrow while she worked on a plan to find her parents and restore their memories. Charlie had come home to help put things back in order, and Bill and Fleur, were home for the holidays as well. Despite the over-capacity, the entire family still felt the absence of Fred very strongly.

~RW~

Christmas Eve dawned with a grey sky and lightly falling snow. One by one, the occupants of the Weasley household descended the stairs to be given an express breakfast of prebuttered toast and a glass of orange juice. As they ate, Mrs. Weasley assigned them each a task.

"Arthur, could you please pick up some cranberries after work today? Bill, I want you and Charlie to go into the woods and find a tree, all right? Fleur, dear, could you and Ginny please clean out the family room and set out the decorations? Percy where are you Perc- ah there you are! don't work too late tonight okay? I know how the Minister loves to keep you all to himself, but not tonight. Hermione, dear, I'll need your help in the kitchen, Ron could you _please _clean your room?" Here she paused and looked around the kitchen. "Where's Harry and George?"

"Harry said he was getting up when I left the room..." Ron said. Ginny stood and made toward the stairs, passing the window along the way. She stopped at a sight out the window.

"Mum? I found George..." Mrs. Weasley hurried to the window, she choked back a sob at the sight before her. George was out in the snow, wearing only his pajamas and mismatched mittens. He sat on the frozen ground facing a stone, Fred's grave. Mr. Weasley came forward and took his wife into his arms, giving a look over her head at Bill to go retrieve his brother. Ginny backed off silently and ascended the stairs. At the top level she knocked softly on the door. "Harry...?"

No answer. She turned the knob and entered slowly. Harry was curled on his bed, holding the photograph of his parents that never seemed to be too far from him nowadays. Ginny moved forward and sat at the edge of the bed. "Harry..."

"I want to be alone, Ginny." He spoke softly.

"No you don't... if you did you wouldn't be staring at that photo like they're going to come back."

"They did come back... I saw them." He set the picture on the wobbly nightstand and sat up. "I just wish there was a way to make it permanent..."

"But there isn't, Harry... you know that."

"I know... but... if I could just..."

"Don't even think about it... Please Harry, you know what it'd do to you!" It wasn't the first time they'd had this argument. "Harry, you can't keep this up... you're bottling everything up again and I can't stand it! The War's over, it's Christmas, we're supposed to be _happy! _But George is out in the freezing cold sobbing over Fred's grave, Mum's trying to keep as busy as possible to stop herself from crying at every little thing, Percy's letting guilt eat him away, and you can't go three days without thinking about that damned Stone!" She clenched her fist to stop herself from shaking.

"Ginny... come here." Harry held his arms out for her to slide into, and then pulled her tightly into his chest. She took a deep breath, inhaling his scent and continued.

"I hate that Stone, Harry. I really do."

"I know, Gin... I know..."

~RW~

_AN: I apologize that it's so short, but this will have more chapters, I'm trying to expand out of my usual one-shots. Also, I know it isn't Christmas, but for some reason I was kind of in a Christmas mood. If you like my stories and want more detailed updates, please like my facebook page! _

_ RavenpuffWarrior_

_Let me know what you think! _

_Love, Ravenpuff Warrior_


	2. Nightmares

By the middle of the afternoon, the chores on Mrs. Weasley's list were complete. Percy and Mr. Weasley had both come home from work, and Mr. Weasley even remembered the cranberries. The small Christmas Eve feast was in the oven, and the large family were gathered in the living room. Each had a mug of hot cocoa and the fire place was alive with flame, but no one felt much like talking. George was sitting on the floor by the tree, staring at an ornament. The ornament was of a two headed snowman, made out of cotton balls and covered in glitter. The arms were two tiny twigs, found in the Burrow's front yard. The ornament was clearly homemade. George turned the fragile decoration around and bit his lip. On the back of the two heads, were the letters F and G.

"George, dear, your cocoa is going to get cold..." Mrs. Weasley said softly. George sighed, letting go of the decoration. He went to take a sip from his cocoa, but just before the mug touched his lips he stopped. He looked up at his family, he almost appeared to want to speak. Percy leaned forward in his chair.

"George?"

Instead of speaking, George stood and exited the room. A few seconds later they heard the door to his bedroom snap shut.

"I wish he'd just say something already..." Ron said, poking the marshmallows in his cocoa.

"Not speaking for 8 months can't be healthy..." Percy put in, gazing toward the stairs.

"Yeah, well losing a twin brother can't be healthy either!" Ron snapped.

Percy sent a glare in his little brother's direction. The two stared at each other intensely, causing Mrs. Weasley to cringe. Percy broke his gaze a stood abruptly, knocking over his cocoa. He ignored the fallen cup and in several long strides disappeared up the stairs.

Hermione smacked Ron's shoulder as Charlie hurried forward to clean the mess left by the fallen mug.

"I don't know how to have a family Christmas when a member of the family is missing." Mrs. Weasley got out in a shaky voice. She drained the last of her cocoa and retreated into the garden.

One by one, the rest of the family began to clear out of the room.

~RW~

Christmas Eve dinner was very quiet. Almost everyone went to bed directly after. Percy ascended the rickety stairs to his room with a heavy heart. He wished he could go back in time, he wished he could have protected his little brother better.

It was no secret, Percy was the least liked member of the Weasley family, and he knew it. George would never forgive him for Fred's death. His mother wouldn't ever forgive him for leaving and tearing the family apart. The rest of his siblings must think he was the worst brother ever... and his father... oh how disappointed Arthur must be.

With a heavy sigh Percy removed his shirt, pants, and socks, leaving his boxers on. He crawled under the covers deciding to forgo brushing his teeth, again. He closed his eyes and fell asleep.

~RW~

_"You're joking Perce!" Shouted Fred, as the Death Eater he was battling collapsed under the weight of three seperate stunning spells. Thicknesse had fallen to the ground with tiny spikes erupting all over him; he seemed to be turning into some form of sea urchin. Fred looked at Percy with glee. _

_"You actually _are _joking, Perce ... I don't think I've heard you joke since you were -" _

_The air exploded. _

_"No! No, Fred, no!" _

_I lifted him slightly off the ground and began to shake him. I knew from the limpness of his still-warm body that he was gone, and there was nothing I could do. I didn't care. I had to try. I shook him as hard as I could, I felt the hot tears stinging the cuts on my face but still I sobbed. _

_"Please... open your eyes..." _

_My vision began to blur as tears spilled onto my glasses. I didn't need sight to know that Fred's eyes remained closed, as they would forever remain. It's all my fault... I'm the worst brother in the world..._

~RW~

Percy awoke with tears staining his face and pillow. His blankets lay in a heap at the end of his bed and his body was covered in sweat. The same nightmare plagued him every night. He cast a lumos charm to view the clock on his wall, two am. He slid from the bed and slowly crept to his desk. He pulled open the top drawer and retrieved a small vial. He unstoppered it and tipped a small portion of the contents into his dry mouth. Almost immediately he felt the effects, he barely had time to replace the stopper and stumble back to his bed before everything went black.

~RW~

_AN: Chapter two for you, apologies for the delay, I was doing some work for my aunt to pay off my new laptop. :) _

_Please let me know what you think!_

_Love always,  
RavenpuffWarrior_


	3. Pretending

The sun peaked over the edge of the horizon at six am. Harry opened his eyes as the first rays of light invaded the room. The first thing that caught his eye was the photo of his parents, smiling, waving, dancing... He smiled at them before reaching over to retrieve his glasses. As he put them on, his brilliant green eyes widened as they took in the pile of presents at the foot of his bed. There had to have been a mistake, how could he have gotten this many presents?

Curious, he reached for the one on the top, the tag read "To our saviour, love the Millton family." He tore the paper off, revealing a small pin. It was in the shape of a lightning bolt. Next to him, he could hear Ron stirring as the dawn's harsh light disturbed his sleep.

"'Arry?"

"Wake up, Ron, it's Christmas!" Harry tossed a pillow onto his friend's bed with a grin, feeling a little Christmas spirit.

Ron sat up and took in the rather large pile of presents in front of Harry. "Where'd you get all those?!"

"From fans I guess, listen to this." Harry replied, looking at the tag of the next gift. "To the saviour of our world, we thank you. Sincerely, the staff of Flourish and Blott's."

Ron gave him a sour look before turning to his own pile of presents. His frown turned into a grin as he noticed he had a few extra gifts from fans as well.

Together, the two of them sat opening gifts and laughing at some of the cards. Harry picked up a slender package and flipped the card toward him. "I always knew you'd do great things, I owe you my life. From Ollivander." Harry opened the box and gazed at the contents. Inside was a beautifully crafted leather holster for his wand. The accompanying paper told him the wand was guarenteed to never fall out, and could only be removed by him. He walked over to Ron to show him his new treasure just as Ginny and Hermione entered.

"Happy Christmas!" They chirped brightly.

"Happy Christmas." The boys returned.

The four of them opened the remaining presents together, for a while forgetting their troubles and just enjoying each other's company. When all the presents were opened, they descended the stairs to the kitchen.

"Happy Christmas!" They each said in turn to Mrs. Weasley, who was cooking breakfast already. She returned the greeting with a smile and told them all to take their seats.

Within the next few minutes, the empty chairs around the table were filled and breakfast was served. Everyone seemed to be in a better mood, Mr. Weasley was quizzing Harry and Hermione about muggle Christmas lights, and Ginny and Ron were engaged in a rather heated debate of the Holyhead Harpies versus the Chudley Cannons. The only ones who did not seem to be in a converstaion were George, who hadn't spoken since the War ended, and Percy, who was just playing with his food.

After breakfast, while Ginny, Harry, Ron and Charlie were helping Mrs. Weasley with the dishes, a knock sounded at the door.

"That must be Andromeda with Teddy," Mrs. Weasley said, peering through the window. "Arthur! The door please?" Mr. Weasley nodded at his wife and went to let them in.

Harry dried his hands and went to greet them. Teddy broke into a huge grin upon seeing his Godfather and leaned forward in Andromeda's arms. He let out a happy squeal as Harry took him and bounced him high into the air.

The morning progressed without much incident, Teddy absolutely loved the toy broom Harry had got him as a Christmas gift. The 9 month old couldn't do much more than sit on it while someone carefully controlled it's movements, but he kept changing his hair colour rapidly and giggling.

At noon, everyone gathered at the table for Christmas dinner. It took Harry, Ginny, and Hermione's combined skills to get Teddy to the table despite his screaming protests at having to leave his broom behind. In the end, it was Ginny holding a jar of baby food and a spoon that convinced Teddy to stop screaming.

It was only when everyone was sitting that Mrs. Weasley noticed. She quickly scanned the main floor of the house, before turning back to the family.

"Where's George?"

~RW~

_AN: I apologize for the shortness of my chapters. I'll try to make them longer as the story progresses. _

_As always, let me know what you think. _

_RavenpuffWarrior_


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